The Way To A Prince's Heart Is Through His Stomach
by Once Upon A Star Trek
Summary: It's Henry's 12th birthday and he wants his birthday cake. Short little OS full of feels.


_This little OS has been sitting in my cloud for a while, waiting to be finished. Here it is:-) LG_

* * *

It was a Wednesday noon, almost like any other, at Granny's. Sitting in a secluded booth, Regina Mills could just barely spot her son sitting by the window with the Charmings, his "real" family.

The diner was packed and something was obviously wrong as more and more people started complaining about not being served. Regina wouldn't have noticed since she was only there because she wanted to catch a glimpse of her son on his birthday. Her little prince was turning 12 today.

She had been forced out of office, which Snow had taken over without the slightest clue what she was doing. Regina would never be in trouble money-wise as she had enough to live the rest of her life without working. However, that left her days empty and boring. Which meant that now, Regina had a lot of time on her hands to do things, like sitting around and watching her son from afar on his special day.

Gone were the days when he'd celebrate it with her. She'd always make him her special apple cake which he had loved and devoured. But now, he preferred his "real" family over her. The ten years during which she had loved and raised him were forgotten, they meant nothing. Well, that was just the way it was. Then she overheard the birthday boy say: "Mom, when will I get my apple cake?" and her heart burst in joy. It plummeted however when she remembered that he was talking to Emma, not her. But a little joy remained since he still wanted apple cake, just not her's.

Which the Charmings obviously didn't know. They didn't know that he always got apple cake for his birthday, it had just been a lucky coincidence that they had gone to Granny's, where Henry had ordered his cake himself. Well, what did they expect, that they would just magically know everything when they stole a child? Because that's essentially what they had done. It had been a closed adoption, Emma had no rights to Henry.

But he wanted to be with her, so Regina had just let him go, knowing that he wished it. She would always do what he wanted, and if letting him go with Emma made him happy, then so be it. The stabbing pain in her heart was worth the smile on her little prince's face.

* * *

Granny was done with her nerves, nothing was working. Ruby had abandoned her today, she hadn't even given an excuse for not showing up. Granny was getting old, she needed someone she could rely on. If it hadn't been for the lack of potential replacements, she would have laid off her granddaughter a while ago, family or not.

Her mood was as sour as a fresh lemon. And the customers and their impatience weren't making it any better. They kept grumbling and complaining, she wanted to shout at them to just fix their damned food for themselves. Granny was no octopus and couldn't clone herself. So she ran back and forth, having to deal with the whiny customers all by herself. She was close to a mental breakdown when she went back to the kitchen counter and found the next order ready for her to serve. Thank god, Ruby had finally shown up, she thought.

Regina had gotten busy in the kitchen; food was cooking on the stove and the apple cake was in the oven while she prepared the smaller things, systematically finishing order after order. The boy wanted his cake and he should get it. And since she cooked a lot in her own home, why not do it here? She had promised Henry to not use magic and she would stick to that promise. Thus, she made do with what the kitchen had to offer.

* * *

The lunch rush passed and she was fixing the last things when Granny entered. "You are a heavensent!" "I'm pretty sure I'm sent from hell, but thank you", Regina replied dryly, then turned around. "I thought Ruby had decided to show up, but it was you the whole time?", the older woman realized surprised. "I think so, Ruby was never here" was her answer.

Granny took the former mayor to the front counter and pointed towards the top jar with a huge smile. "This was emptied out this morning." Now, it was brimming with tips and notes. Eugenia pulled out some of them.

_"This coffee was the best I've ever had. - Absolutely worth the wait. - Whatever you changed today, please keep it that way."_

She looked Regina in the eyes. "Thank you so much, I don't know what I would have done without you." "Never have been cursed" was the immediate reply. Eugenia shrugged. "To be honest, the curse was good to Ruby and me. You gave us 28 years without worrying about inner wolves, you let us stay together, you gave us this diner. Not to speak of electricity, running water and heaters. I am thankful for you, and so would many townspeople if they just got off their high horse for once and bothered to think about what good you did for them. Living standards have increased for all of us. And even those you separated from their loved ones, they didn't remember what they were missing, so they weren't suffering. If you wanted to make us miserable, you have failed miserably in my opinion." Eugenia hugged the former queen tightly, who was taken aback by the action.

"Why do you smell like Ruby's cloak?", Granny asked when she pulled back. Regina grinned sheepishly. "I guess my magic signature would be on the cloak as I made it." "Wait, how is that possible?", Granny asked. "Well, you obviously got it from Rumple. That would have been around the time when he was teaching me, so it was practically one of my school projects. He did that often. He taught me something, had me make something that he could use for his deals in return. You see, not everything Rumple dealt in was dark magic. But it's the only kind of magic he can use, that's why he had me make things like the cloak." "So another thing I have to thank you for."

* * *

Grinning, Regina took her shoes off at home. She had just dropped her purse and wanted to head to the kitchen when there was a knock. When she opened, Henry was the last person she had expected.

"Thank you for the cake, mom. I know it was you, it tasted just like every year." He gave her a hug. "How did you do that, did you smuggle it to Granny's?" "No, I couldn't stand seeing you waiting for your cake and snuck into the kitchen." Henry grinned. It appeared his sneaky skills had rubbed off on his mom.

"That's so great, mom! Ma didn't know, she never asked. But you remembered even though I said all those things to you and moved out. I love you, mom. When I ate that cake, I remembered all the things you did for me, the things you know that they wouldn't even ask about. And I have a room here and don't have to share a small flat with my mom and grandparents. Can I move back in with you, mom?"

Regina's heart burst with love as she beamed: "You are always welcome here, Henry." She placed a loving kiss on the boy's forehead. "But not today, it's late and Emma is probably wondering where you are." Henry nodded. "I do love you, mom." "I love you too, my prince. Happy birthday, sweetheart." She was over the moon, her little prince was coming back to her!

* * *

It was late in the next morning when the phone at the Mills Mansion rang. Wondering who would call her and thinking it was probably Miss Swan wanting to know what she had said to Henry, Regina picked up. "Yes?" But it wasn't Emma.

_"Regina, it's Granny. Ruby abandoned me again. Could you help me out again, please?"_ No need to ask twice. "I'm on my way", Regina said and hung up.

Regina liked the work, she had a lot of fun back in the kitchen. The customers were totally unaware who was fixing their meals, which was awesome. She got so many compliments from the people who would never touch their food if they knew it was her. And she genuinely loved cooking.

In the afternoon, it started to slow down again. Weeknights were never busy and Granny entered the kitchen around five to tell Regina she could leave if she wanted. Nodding, the brunette took off her apron and hung it over the rack. The older woman thought for a bit.

"What is it, Eugenia?", Regina asked, picking up her thoughtful gaze. Eugenia decided to do it. "I'd like to offer you a job." Regina didn't have to think twice before accepting.


End file.
